Short Courses with UArts Faculty
Faculty Short Courses
Programs across UArts provide “short courses”—from brief histories to writing exercises to DIY demonstrations—to give you a taste of what it’s like to attend class with our incredible faculty.
Animation with Chris McDonnell
Animation professor Chris McDonnell gives a short beginner lesson in character design.
McDonnell is an animation director and a bestselling author/designer of art books that explore the animation production process. His animated work has aired on Cartoon Network/Adult Swim, Comedy Central, HBO, IFC, Netflix and Nickelodeon.
Creative Writing with Rahul Mehta
Creative Writing professor Rahul Mehta gives a short course and offers an exercise in character development.
Mehta is the author of the novel No Other World, published by HarperCollins in March 2017. His short story collection, Quarantine (HarperPerennial), won the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Debut Fiction and the Asian American Literary Award for Fiction.
Mehta's fiction and essays have appeared in Epoch, the International Herald Tribune, the Kenyon Review, Marie Claire India, the New York Times Magazine, Noon, The Sun and the Op-Ed page of the New York Times.
Dance with Miles Yeung-Tieu
Dance professor Miles Yeung-Tieu leads a yoga-inspired warm up.
Miles Yeung-Tieu, originally from Oklahoma City, is an alum of University of the Arts, completing his BFA in Modern Performance in 2014. He has performed with Brian Sander's JUNK, Stacy Tookey's "Still Motion," Helen Simoneau Danse and the New York City production of The Radio City Christmas Spectacular. Yeung-Tieu has set the works of Douglas Becker and Mark Haim at University of the Arts and is currently based in Philadelphia.
Graphic Design with Sarah Romig
Graphic Design professor Sarah Romig gives a simple hand lettering tutorial.
Romig completed her BFA in Graphic Design at UArts in 2015. She currently works as a full-time designer at P'unk Avenue, a South Philly web design firm serving people and organizations dedicated to making a positive social impact.
Illustration with Kevin Mercer
Illustration professor Kevin Mercer demonstrates how to build a one-page story using a mixed media collage technique.
Kevin Mercer is an illustrator and mixed media artist. His creative practice employs a blend of analog and digital drawing, painting and collage, and aims to reveal intricate connections between people and ideas. Mercer has exhibited work throughout the U.S. and abroad. His client projects have covered subjects including science, technology, social innovation, travel and personal narratives for clients such as Allen & Gerritsen, Fortune, Philadelphia Weekly, University of Pennsylvania, and WXPN.
Guitar with Ben O'Neill
Guitar professor Ben O'Neill explores and expands upon the major scale.
Ben O’Neill is a Grammy-nominated artist and has played with some of the best-known names in the industry, including Common, Kid Cudi, John Legend, Jill Scott, Sting, Kanye West and others. When he's not on the road, O'Neill works on both solo and collaborative projects, including his latest EP, "Salt," which was released in 2017, and as one third of the jazz organ trio The Mini Q's, whose EP "Ride Again" was released in 2019.